Case of the four-eared cat

A kitten born with four ears is desperately seeking a new home because her owners can't afford to have her neutered, according to German animal shelter officials.

Six-month-old Lilly, born on a farm in the southern state of Bavaria, has an extra pair of slightly smaller, non-hearing ears just behind the normal two. Vets attribute the phenomenon to a gene mutation.

"We want to find Lilly the loving home she deserves. She is very kind and not a monster," said an employee at a sanctuary caring for Lilly and her nine normal brothers and sisters.

Farmers often give kittens away rather than pay to have them neutered to avoid over-breeding, sanctuary officials said.

Lilly would be neutered and available to a new owner around two weeks later, they said.

"She is healthy and can hear perfectly well but only through the front pair," said Tessy Loedermann, from the animal protection group in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which runs the home.

"It often happens with animals' feet when the cells form in an unusual way. But I have never ever seen it with ears before," she said.